Robert "Bob" Kubista

Robert Kubista, age 65, passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday, December 20, 2020. Bob was born December 25, 1954 at Fort Lewis military base in Washington State to Cyril and Jean Kubista, but spent his childhood in southern Minnesota and graduated from John Marshall High School in Rochester in 1973. Bob moved to Longville in the 1980s.

As the long-time owner of Dockside Marine and Sno-Pro in Hackensack, Bob was known as one of the best small engine mechanics in Minnesota. Customers from all over the state would haul their boats and snowmobiles to him because they knew the job would be done right and honest. Bob’s shop and storage sheds were immaculate. You’ve never seen such a shiny shop floor, drawers so perfectly organized with wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers, or so many neatly written yellow post-its adorning sleds, boats, toolboxes, and benches to make sure he never missed a detail.

Bob’s character and meticulousness were reflected in every aspect of his life, including his passions of muskie fishing and hot rod and snowmobile restoration, placing and winning multiple fishing tournaments and car and snowmobile shows over the decades, including the 30th annual Muskie fishing tournament on Leech Lake in 1997. His love of machines was imparted by spending endless hours in the shop as a kid with his father and brother Gary building hot rods for competition. His love of muskie fishing was so deep that Bob’s sister, Norma, crafted a poem in 1995 about his exploits on the water. Bob’s family and friends were everything. He called his parents, Cy and Jean, every week.

Bob loved having a whiskey and water while shooting the breeze with friends in town, whom he considered to be part of his family. He spent Sundays flipping channels between the NASCAR race and telling the meatheads on the Vikings sidelines what play calls they were messing up during the game, which he watched with his long-time partner, Kathy Sweeney. He also enjoyed dropping a few of his hard-earned coins into the slots at casinos, especially during his favorite annual trip to Laughlin, Nevada with Kathy.

Longville was Bob’s home and he will be dearly missed by everyone who knew and loved him.

Bob is preceded by his grandparents, Walter and Marie Kubista, and Ernest and Bertha Krause, and is survived by his mother and father, Cyril and Jean Kubista, sister Norma (Mike) Fogarty, brother Gary (Lori) Kubista, three nephews and one niece, Brian Fogarty (Sonja Hadler), Dan (Jennifer) Kubista, Bradley (Dana) Fogarty, Melissa Kubista (Cory Schmitz), six great-nephews and three great-nieces, Tucker Fogarty, Collin Fogarty, Dylan Kubista, Kolten Hoffmann, Chase Hoffmann, Kooper Schmitz, Mikenna Fogarty, Ava Fogarty, and Kaylee Fogarty, and his long-time partner Kathy Sweeney and her children, Kim and Joe Sweeney.

A visitation will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 2, 2021, at St. Edward’s Church in Longville, Minnesota. A funeral service will follow at 11:00 a.m. As an expression of sympathy, flowers for the service may be purchased at: https://www.whisperingpinesnorth.com/send-flowers. Funeral Arrangements are being provided by Whispering Pines Funeral & Cremation Service, Walker, MN.

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